Shareholder Spotlight: Nancy Alexander

Meet shareholder Nancy Alexander

Member since: The mid-80s 

Reasons for Joining: “In order to buy food that was as chemical free and unprocessed as possible. Also, to have access to homeopathic and alternative healing products. And to help a community asset stay viable.”

Favorite Department: Produce, because it’s so extensive and good quality!

About the Shareholder: Nancy Alexander calculates the date she became a shareholder by the age of her now-adult son and recalls “doing my shareholder hours while my brand new baby slept in the child care room.”

Nancy first arrived in Brattleboro as a teenager in 1971. She stayed to raise her family here, building a satisfying career as an RN until an injury resulted in early retirement.

Her children grown, Nancy was eager for a new adventure and moved across the country to Portland, Oregon, which she laughingly describes as “just like here, but a city!”

Then, with the election and turmoil of 2016, she decided to seek saner pastures in Canada and bought a beautiful homestead in an area called the Kootenays in British Columbia.

But you know the saying about the best-laid plans. While on a visit to celebrate her grandson’s birthday in early 2020, Canada’s border closed due to Covid, trapping Nancy with nothing but a backpack.

It would be 18 months before officials let her return, by which time she’d resettled in Putney “because…life!”

Through it all, Nancy has been one of the helpers, an ardent volunteer (currently at Foodworks and the Putney Food Shelf), and a lifelong supporter of the cooperative model.

Canada’s loss is our gain!

Shareholder Spotlight is created and written by our Shareholder Services Coordinator, Pamela Corkey. If you have questions about becoming a shareholder or how you might like to volunteer in our community as a shareholder, contact Shareholder Services Coordinator Pamela Corkey at [email protected] or call 802-246-2821.

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